Sanitary drinking-cup and dispenser.



E. E. HOOPBR. SANITARYDRINKNG CUP AND DISPEIHBB..

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1913.

Patented Sept.'29, 1914N Wmmusims:

A310117: in

v ]UMTED sTATEs ParrENr OFFICE.

` "nnBEccA n. Hoornn, or nALnMooN BAY, CALIFORNIA.

sentirme??l DRINKING-CUP AND DISPENSER.

specification of renters Patent. Patented. Sept, h 1 91 .L

' Application filed August 6, r1913. Serial No. 788,322. i

To all wlhomttmay concern:

v Be itknowiiithat I, Rinal con, E. Hoornn,

a citizen ofthe United States, residing at Half Moon Bay, in the county of San Mateo and `[zitate of California, have invented newl andz-"useful Improvements in Sanitary Drinking-Cups 'and Dispensers, of

f whiehthe foilowin is'a specification.

"llhisA invention re ates to a sanitary drinking cup and container.

lfher object of the invention is to provide a device of eXtreme simplicitynfor. storing a supply of foldable drinking cups 4'in which they will-A be. .protected against a'ccumi'ilation of dust and contamination' by' handling, and which will always'present a single cup for withdrawal. l

Infpublicplaces where it is" intended that cups should be used but once alarge number minst be on hand within convenient reach of the water supply Iand means sl'iouldbe provided whereby they may beconveniently and quickly extracted .for use, otherwise the `main object; a eiipffoneach-user, 'could'not be carried out.' i

The` inventionv consists ofithe parts and the construction yand.xcoinbination of parts 1 asl hereinafter more-fully described and I claimed, having reference to the accompanyinfr drawings, in 'whichigure 1 is a' front elevation showing the con't'aincrin position upon thesupporting plate. Fig .2is a side elevation o View ofthe container, partly broken away.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section of the 'lower end of the container. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the container. Fi 6 is a plan view and side elevation of t e drinkinvcup, showing ity in the folded position. ig 7 is a perspective view of the cupshowing lSuitably secured to the plate by hinges 2 is a rectangular-shaped container 3, the lower end ofwhich4 may be slightly curved,

'in Fig. 2, a suiicientlyy large openin at' 14. labout thehinee-Q into ,the dotted line posi-V same, partly brok'n away. Fig. 3 is a perspective tion to the supporting plate, and secured' within the containen'as 4at 5-'6 an'df', in any suitable'inanner, is a pair of guide plates 8 and 9. The guide plates 8 and-9 as at 4, in ani-'outward directionwith relaextend through thewhole length of thecoif tainer. By referring to Fig.4 it will be" seen that suiiicient space is left below the@ lower end of th'e guide plates and the bo'ttoin-l A 10 of the container to ermita sin le cu to be withdrawn. p g p elsv ',The lower end of the front face of the 4con-l tainer B is'slotted, as indicated at 11, andthe bottom of the container is ont away, as

indicated at`12.y Forthe purpose of filling the container with folded cups, as indicated 13 y has been provided oli-the rear portion o the container. 'This opening extends lengthwise of the casing fand practically leaves the'i-ear face of the casing open to` permit the'insertionv ofthe folded cups. y This' is accomplished by releasingra suitable form of latch, indicated he container Imay then be swung tion, indioat .at 15,130 ermit the insertionof folded l cu-ps throng the opening 13.-

lThis opening is however closed the moment thecontainer is swung back and locked in position with relation to the supponting plate B, thus preventing the admissionr of any dust to the-interior, of the'container.

In operation when fillin the' container it is only necessary to stack t c folded or Hattened cups, as indicated in Figs'. 2 and 4.

Thisis accomplished .by folding the lower l point ofl'vthe cup 16 inwardly as each one is placed 1n lposition. lA suitable weight or pressure 17 is 'then placed on top of the stack of folded cups for the purpose of feeding the cu s down through the container. The inwar ly folded end of each individualv cup will, when reaching the lowermost layer of the stack, have a tendency to spring out into the position indicated at 18, the cutaway portion .12 in the bottom of the ,con-4 tainer permitting the pointed folded endito project out throu h the bottom. yA'F'suilicient portionof lt e cup is thuspijojected'.-

e e .withdrawal of the cup.. The cupfif throuh the bottom of t container to permit t l I being withdrawn in the direction of the. ai'-,I

row a, throu li theslot 11, will immediately be replaced y another cup and the folded projection 'of same will immediately Bpi-ing out intotlie projected position in readiness to be with-drawn; the natural spring of the paper being sufficient to cause the folded end to unfold` itself with relation tothe cup. The cap thus extracted may be slightly pressed from the folded sides into the open position, indicated in Fig. 7 where it may be filled with Water for the purpose described.

The cup may be constructed of ahnost any suitable form of paper, and it is not necessary to Water-proof the paper, as the cup is folded cups it can easily be seen that a great quantity of same may be stored within the container. The device may be constructed of Lany suitable material, and being practically inclosed at all times it can easily be seen that contamination by handling is obviated and the admission of dust is practically impossible. 'The cups are therefore maintained in a sanitar condition no matter how long they may e stored within the container. lVhile a portion of the lowermost cup is always exposed to the atmospliere, this is of no consequence as the wide or drinking` end of theA cup is within the container; no dust or germs can thus settle on that portion of the cup which comes in contact with the persons lips.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 'and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

A container for drinking cups which latter are folded so as to have a relatively contracted portion which provides a finger grip,

consisting of `a casing having av slot initsv front side which slot alines with the casmg bottom and is of a length greater than the greatest length of the folded cup, said casing having'a forwardly curved lower end so that the bottom thereof is arranged at an incline, the bottom of the casing having a cutaway part located at substantially the center of the slot'and communicating therewith, said cutaway part being of a size slightly larger than that'of the contracted part of the cup whereby said contracted part of the cup is permitted to pass through the cutaway part y and to project belowthe casing bottom and in substantially a vertical plane, the cutaway part being of considerably less length than the greatest length of the folded cup whereby to necessitate removal of the body of the folded cup through the slot and by a single movement in a straight line.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto setmy hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

REBECCA E. HOOPER. Witnesses:

SARAH M. Hoornn, JENNIE A.. BROOKE. 

